All the Action from the UF Surf Club 35th Annual Alumni Challenge
As Floridians, most of us know the merriment that fall time brings. The temperatures are no longer stifling hot, tropical storm activity brings abnormally fun surf to our shores. We rejoice the increase in surf and the decrease in crowds. This early October has been no exception, as the UF Surf Club experienced firsthand this past weekend.
The UF Surf Club returned to the Marineland Beach Park this year to hold their 35th Annual Alumni Challenge. The club, founded in 1978, was met with size-able waves thanks to the Hurricane Sam swell. The waves started out in the thigh to rib high range, with some sets in the shoulder to chest high range. Clear, warm skies met with emerald seas, providing some great conditions for the event.
Photo: Tory Strange
Students Take on Alumni
The premise of the contest is rife for healthy competition: students and alumni share the stoke while battling for bragging rights.
UF alumni and former owner of Freeride Surf Shop in Gainesville, Meredith Burch has attended nearly all of the club’s challenges throughout the years.
“The Alumni Challenge is a source of inspiration for all those who participate,” Burch explained. “Everyone benefits from the contest as surfing is the thread that unites us. It’s pretty cool that the event and the relationship with the students has evolved organically. We do it because we love it.”
The scene on the beach was jovial, as students, alumni, and entire families flocked to the white sand beaches of Marineland. Dotted by coquina rocks, this relatively secluded beach offers an old-Florida feel. The waters were surprisingly clear this past weekend, despite the increase in surf.
Surfers partook in 15 minute heats, often provided a five minute paddle-out to give competitors a chance to fight the stiff south current. Competitors paddled out past the southern jetty, oftentimes pulled down to the northern jetty before their heat was over. Despite the tough conditions, students and alumni found larger sets and steep sections to show off their skills.
In the end, it was UF alumni who dominated the men’s shortboard division, while students swept the women’s shortboard category. Alumni took first place in the longboard division, joined by all students in the final heat. It seems for at least another year, UF Surf Club alumni will reign supreme over their fellow gators.
